Meeting Mrs Malfoy
by SiriusJess
Summary: Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger hate each other. Don't they? What would happen if they were forced to get married to comply with a Marriage Law. Would it be the most ridiculous mismatch in wizarding history, or the greatest love story?
1. Chapter 1

This is my take on the marriage law scenario

The Ministry of Magic has passed a law that requires all unmarried witches and wizards that survived the war to submit to Legilimency at the Marriage Registration Office, and one week later they receive an owl with their intended's name. This is my take on the marriage law scenario.

A/N: Takes place three years after the final battle with Voldemort. The characters all belong to the brilliant J.K. Rowling. Sadly I only own this plot

Chapter One

Three years have passed since the final battle at Hogwarts. The Ministry of Magic has passed a law requiring Muggle-borns and Half-Bloods to marry Purebloods. The law requires them to present themselves to a Ministry trained Legilimens, so that the Ministry can pair up Muggle-borns and Half-Bloods with Pure-bloods. The use of an expert Legilimens, ensures that each match has a better than average chance of working out.

Harry, Hermione and Ron had all survived the war, and Hermione and Ron had gotten engaged after dating for a year after the war. Harry and Ginny had rekindled their relationship and the foursome was frequently seen around wizarding London out together.

Harry and Ron were living at number twelve Grimmauld Place. Hermione and Ginny shared a flat in London, very near to Grimmauld Place. The Golden Trio was in the Auror program together, and Ginny was training as a healer. They were all so happy and in love and that is when tragedy struck.

Two of them had cornered some Death Eaters still on the run. They had managed to kill three of them and even got some backup from Narcissa Malfoy who happened to be walking past the alley where they were fighting for their lives. She immediately joined them in fighting off the Death Eaters. They had each killed one when another Death Eater joined into the fray and shot a Killing Curse at Narcissa. Ron dove in front of her and took the curse meant to her. Narcissa killed the remaining Death Eater.

Harry apparated right outside her door, he didn't know how to tell her who she was required to marry. She was going to be devastated when he told her. It just wasn't fair. How could the Minister require Hermione to list herself on the muggleborn registry? She had helped save the wizarding world. She and Ron had helped him kill the most evil wizard of all time.

She needed more time to grieve. Ron had only died 3 months ago, how could Kingsley do that to her. Hermione and Ron should have lived happily ever after. Instead, Ron was dead, and Hermione was going to have to marry that foul git. The worst part was that she was going to get her notice in a few hours. The head of the Marriage Registration Office was Percy Weasley, and he had given Harry a heads up since Hermione was supposed to marry his brother yesterday.

"Of all the wizards in Britain, all the wizards on the pure-blood list, how do I tell Hermione that she has to marry Malfoy?"

Hermione had just returned from the Burrow visiting Ron's grave and she saw her best friend standing at her door. She forced a brave smile to her face and was about to greet him when she heard him talking to himself. She felt all the blood drain out of her head before she crumpled in a faint. Harry heard a gasp followed by a thump behind him. He slowly turned around and saw her lying on the ground, passed out.

Entering Malfoy Manor, Blaise immediately started shouting, "Draco! Where are you? Have you received your letter yet? Did you find out whom you are to marry? I got mine today, and you will never guess who is going to be the next Mrs. Zabini . . ." he slowly trailed off when he saw the white face of his best friend.

"Are you OK mate?" he asked

Blaise took the parchment from Draco's hand and skimmed over it before looking at him with complete shock on his face.

"Granger, Blaise. I have to marry Granger. How could those idiots at the Ministry pair up me and GRANGER" Draco raged. His face was now bright red in his anger. "I thought the Legilimens was supposed to match us up with the person most likely to be our soul mate? How could I have to marry Granger?"

"Her fiancé died saving my mother's life, she was tortured by my Aunt Bellatrix, and my father tried to kill her. Talk about having in-law problems. Hermione will never accept this. She hates me and my family, and who could blame her."

"Merlin, Draco. I don't even know what to say." Blaise said. "I would have never thought that the ministry would foul up that bad."

"Well Blaise who did you get. I know that your match has to be better than mine."

"Parvati Patil. I mean I know she was a Gryffindor, but she is really pretty, and Ginny told me she is really nice too," Blaise said. "Hey, maybe the four of us can go out together to make it more comfortable for all of us."

"Well, I may as well get this over with" Draco said. "If you don't hear from me by tomorrow morning, you can have my broom."

"Very funny Draco. It can't be that bad."

"No Blaise, it is that bad. I have liked Hermione since the Yule Ball in 4th year. She hates me Blaise. How am I supposed to live knowing that the only reason she married me was because she was forced to."

"My friend, look at the silver lining. You get to marry Hermione. If you ever had a chance to make her love you this is it."

Draco looked up at him, a hopeful smile taking over his handsome face. "I reckon you're right mate. This may just work. For sure this is going to be the only chance I will ever get."

With a loud crack he disapparated to go see his intended. Blaise smirked over at Draco's parents who were standing just behind where Draco had just been standing.

Lucius had a satisfied look on his face when he looked over at his wife and said "I was right my dear. Our son is in love with Ms. Granger."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed so far

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed so far. This is my first fic, and you have all encouraged me to keep writing. I will try to update as often as possible, I work full time, so it may take me a while to post again, so please bear with me.

Chapter Two

She was lying on her couch when she woke up. She opened her eyes and looked into the concerned emerald green orbs of her best friend.

"Oh, thank Merlin Harry, I had the most horrible dream. I dreamed that when I came home from Ron's grave, you were standing outside my flat and saying that I had to marry Draco Malfoy. How ridiculous..is…that…" she trailed off at the look on his and Ginny's faces.

"You mean it is true? I have to marry Malfoy? That blonde…" she frantically searched her mind for a suitable insult before settling on "…ferret!"

"Hermione, we need to get to the Ministry to work out the details of your marriage contract. Malfoy should have received his owl already, and he will be waiting at the ministry for us to arrive. I told Percy that I would come and tell you myself. He didn't think that you should have to find out by owl, with what yesterday was supposed to be" Harry said.

"I thought that the Legilimency expert was supposed to match us with someone that we are supposed to be able to fall in love with. They are not supposed to create loveless marriages. How are we supposed to have heirs? They don't honestly expect the two of us to fall in love do they? It is preposterous" she raged.

"Hermione," Harry said tentatively, "you need to calm down now? I know that this situation is not ideal," he looked at Hermione and continued, "but you know that there is nothing that you can do about it. Once you submit to the scan at the ministry, you are bound by magical contract to go forward with the marriage."

Ginny looked at Harry and laughed, "You are a much braver man then I give you credit for Harry. I can't believe you just told Hermione to calm down." She turned to Hermione and said "You and Draco get along fine now. We have all been out together tons of times. I'll just wait for you here."

The two best friends moved over to the fireplace and threw in floo powder. They stepped into the fireplace together and Harry shouted "The Department of Marriage Registration, Percy Weasley's office."

Percy looked up to see Hermione brushing herself off and glaring at him. He put his hands up, palms out, and said hastily, " Hermione it was out of my hands. You both submitted to the Legilimens, and they both said that you were perfect matches. I have been fighting them for two weeks on this. I have told the Minister over and over that this match would never work, but all he says is "they are bound by magical contract Percy, we have no choice in the matter." For Merlin's sake Hermione, you were supposed to become my sister-in-law yesterday. Don't you think I, heck all of us" he waved his arm to encompass, Harry and Arthur Weasley, who was standing next to the fireplace with a sad look on his face "don't you think we have all tried everything we could to stop this travesty" he finished red faced.

Arthur looked at Hermione with tears in his eyes and said, "We all tried, my dear. We have appealed to everyone, including Lucius Malfoy, but there is nothing we can do. The contract is binding. You and Draco are in the same boat that Harry was in during the Tri-Wizard tournament. You have no choice," he finished kindly.

"You're right Arthur, I have to make the best of this marriage." She looked over at Percy and said, "Show him in Percy, it's time for me to accept this and move forward."

Draco Malfoy walked into Percy's office followed by his parents and looked over at Hermione, and took in her appearance. She had changed remarkably since Hogwarts. Her hair now fell down her back in soft curls, as opposed to the tangled mess she once had, and she had grown to be a very beautiful you woman. He took in her dress robes, and sat down with a murmured "Hermione."

Hermione sat back and let the men handle the contract. Harry and Arthur were brutal in their negotiations for Hermione. According to the marriage law, the pure-blood's family was responsible for bestowing a settlement upon the muggle-born. The settlement was held in trust by Gringotts goblins, until the couple reached their 10th year of marriage. At that point, the couple could chose to remain married, or they could dissolve the marriage, at which time the settlement would be released to the muggle-born spouse. They were ganging up on Malfoy trying to get him to practically hand her the only key to the family vault.

Hermione finally broke into the negotiations, with a quietly uttered "Enough"

It took her several seconds of being polite before she finally had to shout to get them to listen to her. She calmly thanked Harry and Arthur for their fierce negotiations, and said, "I don't want any of this. It is bad enough that Draco and I are being forced to marry. We don't need to make this all about galleons and sickles. We will have a standard marriage contract with everything required by the ministry, and nothing more. I have a sizeable inheritance from my parents, and I don't need more money. If we decide to dissolve the marriage after the required time, then we will leave with what we came in with."

The men looked at her in shock, before Arthur said "Hermione. Don't be foolish. The contract varied depending on how much money is involved. We are only trying to protect you. But if that is what you want, that is what we will do. It is just that I feel responsible for you. Molly and I love you like another daughter. We want to make sure you are provided for."

When they finally finished the negotiations, the betrothal contracts were signed, and the wedding was set to happen in 3 months. Hermione felt no need to wait, but she gracefully acquiesced to her future mother-in-law's desire to throw a society wedding. "After all my dear, you are marrying into one of the most prestigious families in the wizarding world" she stated.

Hermione made plans to meet Narcissa in Diagon alley the following day with Ginny and Molly Weasley, to go look for the perfect dress, and Draco, Lucius, and Harry, were told that they were going to meet the tailor to get fitted for their dress robes.

They were just about to leave when Draco said "Hermione could we maybe go for a walk and talk…in private?"

Hermione smiled at her family to let them know it was OK before she assented.

A/N: Please review to let me know how you like this. If it sucks I don't want to keep writing, and please don't be scared to critique my grammar. I do a spell check and have someone else read each chapter, but there is always room for improvement.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hermione and Draco decided to walk around Hyde Park in London, so they apparated to a densely wooded area, and meandered around renewing their acquaintance. They saw each other from time to time when they went out with their friends. Ginny and Blaise were in healer training together at St. Mungo's and they frequently went out together after their shifts. They caught up talking about their post-Hogwarts training. Hermione told him about her Auror training, and Draco discussed his work at the Malfoy Foundation.

Hermione was also stunned to find out that they both loved to read. Draco told her all about the library at the Manor, and Hermione got positively giddy thinking about all the rare books that must be there.

"Please Draco, could we please apparate to your Manor to see it? I have heard about your family's library before. Please, I promise I won't stay long."

Draco smiled down at her and said, "Of course we can go... it is just….are you sure you will be OK going back there" he hesitated before continuing, scared to remind her of what she had endured the only other time she had ever been to his home "will the memories of what my aunt.."

Hermione was quick to cut him off and say, "It will be fine Draco. I'll have to get used to being there sometime before the wedding. Now is as good a time as any. Besides, I have to show your parents that they aren't getting a coward for a daughter-in-law."

"We'll have to use side along apparition" Draco offered "The wards at the Manor won't know your magical signature yet, so it is necessary the first time you go there to be accompanied by a Malfoy. Do you mind?"

"No, Draco, that will be fine" she replied. She moved into the circle of his arms, and with a crack they were gone.

"Mother, Father, Hermione and I are here. I brought her to show her the her future home." Draco called out once they had appeared in the foyer.

Hermione was looking around in awe at the enormous foyer they had just appeared in. The walls were flanked by two curving staircases on either side of the hall, that ran between them.

Narcissa and Lucius came down the left staircase, and welcomed her warmly to their home. His mother immediately offered to have tea brought to the blue sitting room, but Draco excused them and brought Hermione down the corridor, passing several doorways on their quest for the library.

Finally, Draco pulled her into to the most extensive private library in all of Wizarding Britain. The sight of so many books in one place immediately entranced Hermione. There were sections devoted to Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, and of course The Dark Arts.

Upon seeing Hermione looking at the Dark Arts Section, Draco said, "Hermione I hope that you wont think badly about those. They are all first editions, and have been here…"

Hermione cut in and said "Draco, you don't have to explain. I don't look poorly on your family for having these. I can't imagine having access to all these books. Do you think your father would let me borrow some for my Auror training?"

Draco smiled at her obvious delight with his library. "I now know just what to do when I inevitably piss you off. I just need to give you a book."

"In fact, Granger, you are going to save this family a fortune in jewelry" he joked.

Then he sobered up and said, "Gods Hermione, how could I have forgotten. Mother, Father," he bellowed, "I'll be right back Hermione" he explained before exiting the library and seeking his parents out in his father's study.

"You yelled" Lucius drawled.

"I have the ring here Draco" his mother quietly uttered. "Unless you want to take her to the jewelry vault to pick out a different ring."

"I don't want to take your ring mother. I would like to pick another from the vault; I remember a canary diamond in a platinum setting flanked by rubies and emeralds. It would kind of represent the merging of what we both are" Draco replied.

Draco looked over at his father and noted the approving look in his piercing silver gaze. Lucius held out the key to his son and said, "I think that would be a wonderful idea son. Your mother thought that might want to chose another ring to give to your bride."

He came back to the library to find his intended sitting on a comfy couch reading an ancient tome on Transfiguration with her back to him. He smiled at the sight in front of him, and gently, so as to not scare her, laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Hermione immediately sucked in her breath and tensed up, before realizing who it must be and looking over her shoulder at him. She was struck all of a sudden by how handsome he was. He was tall, well over 6 feet, and he had that baby soft blond hair that just kind of naturally fell in a pleasing manner. His form was well honed from his years of training for Quiddich. His really was an impressive figure. She was going to be the envy of many witches.

Draco smiled at the once over she was giving him. He walked around to the front of the couch and crouched down in front of Hermione. He smiled at her. A true smile, and she was struck again by how much it transformed his face when it reached his beautiful gray eyes. "I want to show you something else if you will come with me," Draco said.

Hermione assented, and allowed him to pull her to her feet, and this time when opened his arms for her to step into them she didn't hesitate. With a loud pop, Draco apparated them to Gringotts.

They almost instantly appeared in front of Gringotts. Draco offered his arm, and they proceeded into the bank together. Neither acknowledged the looks that passersby were giving them, seeing to son of former Death Eaters, and Hermione Granger of the Golden Trio arm in arm entering the bank. The Malfoy Family goblin led the young couple down into the very depths of the bank.

Hermione remembered very well her last trip to the depths of the bank, only this time anti-intruder jinxes weren't in action. When the reached the three Malfoy vaults, Draco stepped over to the smallest door, and inserted his key.

Hermione was in awe at the sight of so many jewels. Draco explained that this was the family jewelry vault. He brought her inside and proceeded to pick up a beautiful ring.

Draco dropped to one knee and said "Hermione, I know that I am not the fiancé that you chose, and I can never replace Ron in your heart, but I want to try to make this marriage work. I am not expecting us to immediately be happy, but I do hope that we can learn to care for each other, and maybe eventually even love each other."

He stopped speaking for a moment to open his fist and show her the ring. It was a 2-carat Canary Diamond flanked on both sides by rubies and emeralds. "This ring was given to Arianna Malfoy by her husband. He was the first Malfoy male to marry a Gryffindor. There was an uproar in the family when he announced his intention to marry her. Her name was Arianna Prewett, and she was Molly Weasley's great-great aunt. My parents offered us the ring that Malfoy wives traditionally wear, but I just kind of thought that this one was more…us," he said.

She smiled up at him and held out her left hand. He slid the ring onto her finger, and it magically fit itself to her ring finger. Hermione felt a lurch in her stomach, and was shocked to realize that she didn't hate him anymore at all. If this was the real Draco Malfoy, maybe this marriage could work after all.

A/N: So……. Reviews?? Help me out here people. Apparently some people like my story, cause they review, but if you don't like it let me know why. Before anyone says it, it is possible for people to start falling for each other the first day, it happened for my husband and me and we have been together for 8 years now.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Ok, so I like the stories where Blaise Zabini is Italian, because that is how I pictured him while reading the series, so in my story he is Italian.

It had been almost a month since Malfoy, had given her the ring. She had had a surprisingly good time with Narcissa, Molly, and Ginny picking out their dress robes for the wedding. Hermione had had to fight with Narcissa and Molly to pay for her own wedding robes. They were both very insistent that they be the ones to buy them. The only thing that would have made the search better was if her mother could have been there.

Hermione was swept up into memories of the fateful night that her parents were murdered. It was shortly after the war, and there were still a lot of Death Eaters on the run. Hermione and Ron had apparated into her parents' back yard for dinner with her mum and dad, but when they arrived the Dark Mark greeted them over their home.

Ron had run in ahead of Hermione and it was he who found her parents. They were lying on the floor of the kitchen, remnants of the dinner they were preparing scattered across the floor. He had tried to spare her the sight, but she was right behind him, she would never forget the looks of fear on their faces. Naturally the police were baffled, as to how a perfectly healthy couple could drop dead of no apparent cause. It was ruled an accidental poisoning.

After the death of her parents they had moved the wedding back, to give her time to grieve. She always wondered if they hadn't moved it, if things would have been different. They would have still been on their honeymoon when Ron was killed.

Hermione shook herself to release her mind from thoughts of the past. There was no going back. The first month she had spent trying to figure out a way to go back and change history. Harry and Ginny were her rock at that time; they were there for her everyday. But it was Ron's brother George who had finally convinced her that she had to move on.

Now, it was time to start to move on. She was going to marry another man in two months. She was in fact going on a date tonight with that man, without her friends, or his. So far they had gone out together with Harry and Ginny, or Blaise and Parvati, or like last night all together. Tonight would be the first time since the day he gave her the ring that they were going out alone. Hermione had been sure to engineer all of their dates so that she had someone else there, she had started to have feelings for Draco, and she wasn't ready for that.

It still amazed Hermione how well they all got along. The first time they had gone out after the engagement had been a smashing success. Parvati, who Hermione had roomed with at Hogwarts, was a very entertaining dinner companion.

It was enormously entertaining watching her and Blaise interact. Blaise was clearly enamored of his fiancée, and he was not scared to show it. Parvati was always one to find good in people, and she was quickly falling under his spell.

It was also enlightening to watch Malfoy and Blaise interact. They had grown up as friends, so she saw a different side of him when they all went out together.

She was a little nervous about tonight. She had started to care for her handsome fiancé, and she was very confused about her feelings. After he had placed the ring on her finger and stood up, he had hesitantly put her arms around her, and lowered his lips to hers in a tentative kiss.

She had meant to just allow him a chaste peck on her lips, but as soon as his lips touched her, she had felt her heart start to pound. She didn't realize what she was doing, but she had suddenly felt the hair at the nape of his neck between her fingers, she allowed his tongue access to her warm mouth and she felt wonderfully free. She eagerly returned his kiss.

He was the one to pull away. His beautiful gray eyes looked wonderingly into hers, and he leaned in and brushed her lips with his twice more, before releasing her.

Draco was getting ready for his date with Granger. He was surprisingly nervous about tonight. Since the day he had formally proposed, she had made sure that their friends or family were there to chaperon their dates, but tonight he had finally convinced her that they should go out without their friends. He was taking her to a very exclusive private dining club.

He had appealed to his father to figure out how to get her out alone. His mother was no help, her idea was to invite her over for a family dinner, but how do you tell your mother that you want to get your fiancé alone so that you can snog her senseless. "Sorry, mum, I appreciate the idea, but I want to try to get into Grangers knickers" didn't really work when your mother could hex you into a slug, or worse a ferret.

Which made Draco remember the day that George Weasley had cornered him when they were all gathered at The Burrow for dinner. He had proceeded to transfigure him into a ferret, at which point he calmly told him the many different ways that he could be tortured by the older wizard. After about 10 minutes, Hermione had shown up and realizing what was going on, immediately changed him back, with a cocky flick of her wand.

Watching her turn on George Weasley and threaten to hex his balls into oblivion was hugely entertaining for Draco. The sight of George Weasley sheepishly apologizing was almost worth the indignity. "Draco, I am sorry that Hermione realized that you were the ferret that I was playing with oomph…I mean I am sorry I turned you into a ferret." He finished under his breath, "next time I'll make sure she is not around to change you back."

Getting his mind back to the issue at hand, Draco looked in the mirror one last time, gave his hair a quick finger comb to make sure that it looked right, and made his way over to the fireplace to get some floo powder. He threw the powder into the fireplace and stepped in and shouted 15 Havershoot Place, Flat 34.

* * *

Hermione looked up from the book she was reading to pass the time waiting for Malfoy with a smile.

"Right on time as always," she greeted.

He grinned back at her and said, "My mother taught me that a gentleman never makes a lady wait." He reached out his hand to capture her right hand and press a gentle kiss on its back.

"So where are you taking me tonight Malfoy, I am intrigued as to why you won't let me know," she queried.

"If I told you where we are going then I wouldn't have an excuse to put my arms around you. Side along apparition is truly Man's best friend," he joked and pulled her to him by the hand that he had failed to let go.

"I know that your mother didn't teach you that," Hermione replied cheekily.

"That my dear would be one of my father's lessons. How better to get a saucy little witch in your arms." Draco continued, "Besides, you are a hard woman to snuggle with."

At that comment Draco lowered his head and captured her lips in a sweet kiss. He licked at her lips to encourage her to open her mouth. When she did allow him access he groaned deep in his throat and immediately deepened the kiss, and wrapped her tightly in his arms.

He ran his right hand up her side, to cup her cheek, and hold her head in place. He wasn't letting her out of this easily. They finally had to break the kiss to breathe, and Draco ducked his head to kiss her neck. He rubbed his lips sensuously over her collarbone, before lifting his head to look into her whiskey colored eyes.

A man could drown in those eyes, he thought. "I hope you know what you do to me Granger," he said and pressed his lower body into her, so that she could feel his erection.

"Shouldn't we get going soon," she asked and watched his eyes cloud over.

"Right," he said curtly, "we have reservations at 8."

Hermione put her hand on his chest and said "Malf…"

"My name is Draco," he cut in angrily, "you should get used to saying it, after all we are going to be married in two months time."

"D...Draco," she stammered, "Please don't be mad at me. I am just so confused, Ron only died 4 months ago, and when you kiss me, I…well you see I… I just melt, and it feels like I am dishonoring his memory."

Draco's eyes immediately cleared and he said gently, "Hermione I understand, it wasn't fair of me to try to rush you. We'll go slow, and when you are ready…"

She cut him off quickly, "You will be the first to know, I promise."

"So if you are ready, love, we can probably just make our reservation."

She moved close and reached up to kiss him lightly. "Thank you for understanding, Draco, you can apparate us now."

He grinned down at her, and pop, they were gone.

A/N: OK, so I am working on Chapter 5, but I need feedback from you guys. I got an amazing review on chapter 4 that gave me some ideas on how to proceed, and I am actually trying to implement some of the suggestions, so any ideas are welcome. Also if anyone knows a good Beta that would be willing to help me out, let me know.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I finally have a beta to help me proofread my story. So it should be much better now. I want to thank everyone who has been enjoying my story despite my grammatical errors.

Thank you so much to BuffyXO you are my hero!!

Also a great big thank you goes out to everyone who has taken the time to review, and offer me ideas. I would have quit writing this story 3 chapters ago if it wasn't for all of you.

Chapter 5

"Come on Hermione, you promised that you would tell me how the special date went. An entire week has gone by and you still haven't said anything other than, 'We had a nice time.' You know that Harry and I never go out anywhere; so I have to live vicariously through you," Ginny pleaded, batting her eyelashes at her innocently.

"Ginny, you are the reason why we never go out anywhere. You always complain about the reporters that follow us around," Harry complained back.

"Well, you would think that after three years it would have died down a little. I know that I am engaged to 'The Boy Who Lived Twice,' but honestly, we can't even hold hands without flashbulbs going off every five minutes, it is enough to turn anyone off of going out in public."

Hermione smiled at the bickering couple seated with her in Harry's living room. Ginny had been begging her to tell them about "The Big Date," as it was being called, since Hermione had come over that morning for their weekly Sunday brunch together. Ginny and Harry were very deeply in love, and it was wonderful to see them have a chance to be happy together. They had gotten married two weeks previously, and they were just so cut together.

"In Harry's defense, Ginny, he didn't ask to be, 'The Chosen One,' he just was. Nevertheless, I do know what you are saying about the flashbulbs. Draco and I had to run to get away from them. I never thought that it would be as bad it was right after the war, but honestly, I had to restrain Draco from hexing one reporter into oblivion, when he accidentally bumped me while trying to get a comment from us."

"Draco said that we are going to have to deal with this due to his family's prominence" she looked down at the napkin in her hands, or rather the pieces of napkin that she had been systematically shredding as she spoke.

Noticing the pieces of napkin spread all over Hermione's lap with a knowing eye Ginny cut in, "Enough about the reporters, Hermione Jane Granger, I know what you are trying to do, but you are not getting out of telling me how it went. I can guess that it went well, because you haven't called him 'Malfoy' yet. I believe I counted three 'Dracos' in your defense of Harry, there pal," Ginny said, with an emphasis on the word pal. "Now dish!"

Hermione told them about the private dining club that he brought her to. She explained how he ordered all her favorites, thanks to Harry's help. How they spent the dinner talking about their pasts and hopes for the future.

She told them what Draco did at Malfoy International. He was the Chief Administrative Officer of the company, so he was in charge of the day-to-day running of the multibillion-galleon company. The CAO is one of the highest-ranking members of an organization, managing daily operations and reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, which was Lucius' position.

She gushed as she explained that she found out that his family freed their house-elves shortly after the war. And then, he completely shocked her by telling her that he knew about her efforts with S.P.E.W. while at Hogwarts.

"It is truly amazing how wrong I was about him in school. Guys, honestly, I am ashamed of all of us," she said that, "He gives millions to charity every year and it is his decision as to who gets the money."

"That cannot be all Hermione; you are holding out on me, I just know it!"

Ginny exclaimed.

"Maybe Hermione doesn't want to tell you about the more private aspects of her date, 'Miss. Love of my Life,'" Harry finished after noticing the daggers in his fiancée's eyes.

"Ok, ok, ok … after the restaurant we went back to his flat for a nightcap. We talked a little more, and made some plans for the future. We decided that we want to buy our own home rather than move into the Manor. Draco wants to go and look at a house later on today," Hermione said.

"Where are you guys going to look?" Harry asked.

"We were thinking about looking in Chelsea, since it's in London, and really not far from here, so we could visit frequently. Plus Blaise and Parvati are looking at a place in Kensington, so we figured we would be close to everyone," Hermione reasoned.

"That would be wonderful, Hermione," Ginny said, "We could still see each other all the time."

"Hello? You guys are witches, you could see each other when ever you wanted no matter where you lived, ever heard of a floo?" Harry joked.

"Speaking of moving, I had better get going. Draco and I are meeting the realtor at two o' clock to start looking for houses," she said, excusing herself from Harry and Ginny's home.

* * *

Quickly, Hermione apparated to her flat and found Draco sitting on her couch waiting patiently for her.

He stood and smirked, "Did Ginny get all her details about the

'Big Date'? Harry said that she was practically salivating to find out."

"Very funny Draco," she said sarcastically after she pecked his cheek hello, "We have an appointment at three to see the first house."

"You're sure you want to live in the city, and you wouldn't rather live somewhere closer to your parents, Draco?"

"Yes, I'm sure; you would be bored in the country, love" he said as he held the door open and gestured her through first.

"I do want to warn you, though; this place has the smallest square footage that you said we would look at."

"Hermione, I told you we don't have to worry about the cost, we have enough money to buy whatever you want."

"Draco, this is what I want, honest. I have loved this house ever since I was a little girl. It is everything I have ever wanted. When the realtor called, and told me that it was available …I just couldn't believe it."

"Now come on, Draco," she walked over and folded her small hands into his larger ones, and apparated them to her dream house.

* * *

They re-appeared in the back garden of a period property in Chelsea. They quickly walked around front and stepped up onto the wrap-around style front porch. Draco knocked on the Victorian front door of the brightly painted exterior.

"Hermione, how did you know I love Victorian architecture?" Draco said gesturing to the house, as they waited for the realtor to answer the door.

"The books in your flat of course," she replied just as the door opened to reveal a portly woman.

Draco was looking around the porch while Hermione was greeting the realtor, Mrs. Treharn. Tuning into the conversation Hermione was having, he heard the realtor saying, "It is 4000 square feet, with a landscaped back garden and deck."

The inside of the house had a charming foyer, with a beautiful living room leading off of the hall on the left, and a formal dining room on the right. Both rooms had impressive fireplaces; he noted the convenience for flooing to and from the home.

Hermione was mentally planning paint colors and window treatments as they were shown through the rooms.

"Oh, and look, Draco, it has a conservatory" Hermione was practically bouncing as she pulled him into the bright L-shaped room. The outside walls of the L were made entirely of windows outlined with stained glass. "I have always wanted a conservatory in my home."

He smiled at her obvious delight with the house so far. He was actually surprised that he could envision living here so quickly.

The hall led back to an enormous kitchen complete with a center island and walk-in butler's pantry, she could see the two of them in her mind, preparing dinner together.

Once you went up the curving stairs there were five bedrooms, three with en suite bathrooms. The master bedroom, Draco noted to himself was, easily the size of the entire Slytherin common room, he pictured a king-sized four-poster bed centered in the room. In the attached tiled bath, there was a sunken tub and separate shower.

The realtor finished the tour down the back staircase and excused herself into the kitchen. They continued into the conservatory to discuss the house's finer points.

"Hermione, it's perfect. I can already see us living here," he said echoing his earlier thoughts.

"I know Draco, I absolutely love this house. Not only is it beautiful, but it is convenient to the Ministry and Malfoy International, and the fireplaces will make it easy for our families to visit."

He nodded, then turned and walked down the hall to the kitchen, and said, "We'll take it."

"Draco!" Hermione exclaimed as she quickly followed him into the warm kitchen. The terracotta toned Venetian plaster on the walls, warmed the room, and was the perfect color to accent the sandstone colored tiles on the floor.

"You'll have to forgive my fiancée, Mrs. Treharn, apparently, he doesn't understand the fine art of negotiation."

"Why negotiate, love, we both like it, we can afford the asking price? The people who own it now, should get what they are asking for."

* * *

They returned to Hermione's flat around eleven thirty that night. Actually, Draco, it seemed, did know how to negotiate. He had convinced the homeowners to agree to close on the house in just two weeks, that way they could have the house decorated and ready by the wedding. The plan was for him to move into the house and oversee the decorating and minor renovations Hermione had outlined over dinner.

They relaxed on her couch and talked about their plans for the house, until Hermione eventually dozed off on Draco's shoulder. He didn't mind, as he was content to have her in his arms, so fell asleep himself.

Several hours later, Hermione slowly started waking up to a warm, male body that curled around her body with his legs intertwined with her own. At first, she thought she was dreaming about Ron, again. Intuitively, she snuggled closer, nuzzled his neck, and planted soft kisses around his Adams apple. He smelled so good, she thought to herself, much different from usual. That was when she realized that she wasn't dreaming and the man she was nuzzling was Draco. However, her heart was still racing and her skin began to blush with arousal. Her life was so cruelly confusing.

She still loved Ron, didn't she? How could she be attracted to Malfoy? Sure, they were trying to make the best of their situation and they didn't hate each other. But she couldn't be developing real feelings for him, could she?

Interrupting her thoughts, Draco mumbled in his sleep, "Oh Hermione, I love you." He then tightened his arms around her and kept sleeping without seeing the look of shock on his fiancée's face.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Ok so I am married and all, so I have sex, but it is surprisingly uncomfortable to write about it. So if it isn't the best, I hope you'll all forgive me. Anyone that is mad that I made this happen so quickly, there is a method to my madness. Once again, thank you goes out to BuffyXO, for being a fantastic beta.

Chapter 6

"_He can't love me… it's impossible…he's Draco Malfoy, and I'm…I'm Hermione Granger. He is a Slytherin, and I am a Gryffindor …" _was running through her mind after hearing his slumbering declaration.

She was lying cradled in his arms, her face still pressed into his neck. She wasn't moving for fear of waking him. "_How could he love me…he loves me? It is preposterous. This is not supposed to be a love match; we are complying with a law -- a stupid law at that, the stupid marriage law. What am I going to do?"_

She continued to lie still, as her mad thoughts ran through her head. She thought of all the times she had laid on this same couch with Ron. She had never tried not to wake him when she was lying in his arms. If she had woken up in Ron's arms, she would be nuzzling his neck trying to get him to wake up, exactly as she had started doing with Draco.

This all started with her innocently falling asleep in his arms. She hadn't even had that much to drink, just two glasses of champagne with dinner to celebrate their purchase. It was just so comfortable sitting there on the couch together; it felt natural to put her head on his shoulder as she started getting tired. He certainly hadn't complained, but then why would he, _Hermione, I love you?"_

"_He loved her, and she… well, how did she feel about him? She didn't hate him anymore, she knew that, but was what she felt for him love?"_

Two weeks later, the wedding was now only one month away. They still hadn't discussed what had happened the night they made the offer on the house.

She was frankly, scared to bring it up. She didn't want to hurt him and he understood that she was still struggling with her feelings for him. She now, at least to herself and Ginny, admitted that she had feelings for him.

She worried constantly that she was being unfaithful to Ron's memory, but once again, with George Weasley's help, she was slowly starting to admit that Ron wouldn't want her to live the rest of her life mourning him.

"_Hermione, you have always been so full of life. Ron wouldn't want that to disappear due to him, that was what he loved the most about you." _George had said that to her every time she popped over to his shop to talk.

He was the one that convinced her to talk to Ginny, and admit finally, that she was falling for her fiancé.

"_Hermione, we can all see it in your eyes, the way that you look at him, and it is OK, Hermione, no one blames you. We have all seen how he has changed. None of us expected you never to move on after Ron died._

* * *

Hermione and Draco had continued getting to know one another. The more she knew him, the more she was finding herself liking him. He really was an entertaining companion. She had found herself on the receiving end of his wit, more than once, and he had an amazing ability to make her giggle, which was something she never did.

Currently, Draco was helping Harry and herself study for the potions portion of their Auror exams. Oddly enough, she was, for the first time in her life, not nervous about passing the exams. They were going to sit them in one week.

"Harry, honestly, how did you get an exceeds expectations on your N.E.W.T. Potions Exam? It is boomslang skin, not bats skin. I swear if you blow me and Hermione up before our wedding, I'll--"

"—Be dead" Hermione finished, "and as such, be unable to do anything about it."

He sauntered over to her, pulled her close, bent her over his arm, and proceeded to ravage her neck.

"Draco," she sputtered, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Well, I just figured if Potter here was going to blow us up, I might as well die a happy man." He dodged out of the way of the fist she sent towards his shoulder, and ducked behind her laughing the whole time. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

When she started squirming, he smacked her on her bottom and laughed at the expression on Harry's face. "Stop wiggling before I drop you. She is a wiggly little witch, Potter, how did you deal with her when you guys were growing up?"

The hand that he had left resting on her leg just under her bottom was uncomfortably arousing Hermione. He was rubbing the juncture of her thigh and bum with his thumb when she jerked, hard, on his shoulder.

Draco, not expecting her sudden movement, lost his grip on her and started to drop her back over his shoulder. He managed to catch her by slapping both hands onto her bottom and holding on. He asked, "Oi, Potter, a little help here, before I drop your best mate on her pretty little head."

Harry looked up and saw Draco gripping his friend in a rather uncomfortable place, and dissolved in fits of laughter.

Draco finally managed to flip Hermione back over his shoulder, but her momentum carried her all the way down to land hard on her backside.

She glared up at her fiancé from her position on the floor. "Very funny Draco, she said before she smiled and aimed her wand at him and yelled, "Rictumsempra!"

Draco dissolved in fits of hysterical laughter. He sat down hard on the floor and crawled over to her giggling the whole time.

Harry was by now unable to breathe when Ginny came in. She asked, "What is going on in here?" She cancelled the spell Hermione had on Draco, and he immediately pounced tickling her.

Harry walked over to his new bride, and wrapped her in his arms. He kissed her before starting to ruthlessly tickling her too.

Once everyone finally calmed down and Draco helped Hermione and Harry clean up their potion equipment, the two couples decided to go out for dinner and make it an early night. Draco and Hermione had an appointment with the muggle bank to sign papers on their house in the morning.

* * *

Today was the closing on their house. Everything had gone smoothly, eased along by the Malfoy fortune. They had decided that it was ridiculous to keep Hermione's flat for another month when there were five perfectly good bedrooms for her to pick from in their new home.

Harry. Ginny, Blaise, and Parvati had just left their new house with promises to return in the morning with the rest of the Weasleys and Draco's parents to help he and Hermione move in.

The other two couples had helped celebrate the closing and together they had gone through several bottles of firewhiskey. Now, the betrothed couple was sitting on the blanket that they had spread on the living room floor.

Hermione was already half plowed when Draco held out her tumbler with another shot in it. "Just one more before I see you back to your flat for your last night?" He was smirking at how little it took her to start feeling the effects of the alcohol.

"You're not trying to get me drunk to take advantage of me are you?" she teased.

"I'm wounded Hermione, besides I don't need to get you drunk, you know you want me," he teased back wiggling her cup in her face.

She was leaning back on her elbows next to him, at his words; she fell back on the blanket giggling uncontrollably. She turned her head to the side and smiled at him after she finally calmed herself.

Draco leaned over her and smirked right before he started tickling her. She was rolling from side to side trying to dislodge his hands and in the process; she rolled into the arm holding him up. He fell on top of her and they cracked heads.

"Ouch, Draco that hurt."

"Fuck me. I was right in school; you do have a hard head Granger."

He was laughing at his wit, when she swatted him. They continued to laugh at each other when she saw his gaze shift down to her lips.

"Draco," she began before he leaned in and lightly kissed her soft lips. She felt her breath catch in her throat at the sensuous feel of his lips rubbing lightly on hers. She rolled closer rested her hands on his chest with a soft groan.

He had meant it to just be a light kiss, but with Hermione's response as he deepened the kiss, he pulled her the rest of the way into his arms and continued to kiss her senseless for a few moments more. He broke the kiss and eased back to look down at her flushed face, a question burning in his gray eyes.

"_Merlin can he kiss," _she thought. She answered him by pulling him towards her by his shirtfront, running her hands through the soft hair at his nape, and tangling her tongue with his in a forceful kiss.

Draco was undone by her kiss; he could feel himself swelling in response to the feel of her tongue invading his mouth. He ran his right hand down her side to cup the outer edge of her breast. Encouraged by her moan, and the feel of her hips undulating into his, he moved his hand to cover her breast fully, and thrust against the juncture of her thighs with a throaty moan.

Draco suddenly tore his mouth away, "No, Hermione, I don't want to rush this. We agreed that we would wait until after the wedding ceremony, and I don't want you to sleeping with me because you're pissed on firewhiskey, and …."

Hermione quickly rolled on top of him and stopped his words with a passionate kiss. "Draco, I am not drunk," she said after breaking the kiss, "I am clearheaded, I know exactly what I am doing, and I want you. I am tired of fighting it. Draco, take me. Please don't make me wait anymore. I feel like I have wanted you forever."

"You had better be sure, because if we start this, I won't be able to stop. So be sure Hermione," he said as he peppered her face with kisses.

She grounded her hips onto his erection, and ravaged his mouth and asked, "Does that answer your question Draco or do you need more convincing?" .

He rolled her under him and latched his lips onto the sensitive skin of her neck. Using his teeth and tongue he quickly had her moaning his name. He ran his hands down the front of her dress, releasing buttons as he went and kissing the flesh he was slowly revealing. Finally, her dress was undone all the way to her waist, and he slowly spread it open to allow his hungry eyes to feast on the sight of her clad only in a lacy pink bra and panties.

Hermione ran her hands down his back in a quest to feel his skin against hers. She started pushing up his shirt, and he pulled back to rip it off over his head. He leaned down and took her silk covered breast into his mouth.

Hermione arched her back off the blanket pushing her breast into his face as he lathed her nipple with his warm tongue. He opened the front closure of her bra with a quick flick of his fingers freeing her breasts to his hungry gaze.

She was writhing underneath him, aflame from his ministrations. She could feel how wet she was becoming and ground her hips up into his erection demandingly.

"Oh my God, Draco!" she exclaimed. "That feels so good."

She reached down and cupped him. He thrust his hips into her palm, and ran his tongue along the valley between her breasts to give his attention to her other nipple

Hermione was panting and pleading now. She ran her tongue along the inside of his ear eliciting a moan from deep within his throat.

They broke apart and they divested each other of their remaining clothes. Draco reached down and cupped her mound. He ran his finger along the folds of her lips, and inserted it inside her. She could feel herself falling apart in his arms. Her inner muscles were clenching around his finger.

She rocked her hips driving his finger deeper, and at the same time took his length into her hand and started pumping. She angled her head up and took his lips with her own.

At her kiss, he situated himself between her hips and slowly drove into her.

She cried out at the feel of him filling her.

"I can't hold on Draco, I'm going to come," she panted.

"'Mione, oh my God," he groaned out. Feeling her come apart around him, he thrust three more times, and then emptied himself into her. He collapsed on top of her for a moment, before pulling her into his arms and rolling her on top of him keeping her hugged tightly to his chest while they both caught their breath.

After a few moments, she picked up her head with obvious effort, and looked into his eyes.

He felt like he was drowning in the amber depths. "Hermione--" he began, but she cut him off.

"--Don't apologize, Draco. I knew what I was doing. I wanted you, but it was because I have grown to care for you. I care for you so much Draco. I didn't think I would, or could, but I do."

"As glad as I am to know that you care about me Hermione, I was actually going ask you to transfigure the blanket into a bed so we could be more comfortable." He said with a grin. "I am by no means done with you tonight," he said.

She blushed crimson, and rolled to the side of the blanket to grab her wand. With a flick of her wand and a quiet incantation, the blanket they were laying on became a soft mattress. He pulled her back on top of him and began assaulting her senses all over again.

A/N: Reviews? You know how much I love them. If you haven't reviewed yet, please let me know what you think. Good or Bad, I am glad to get the feedback. Once again, BuffyXO has come through for me, making this chapter 100 times better than it was.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: blah, blah, blah, I don't own the characters, just the plot.

Chapter 7

The following morning, Draco was lying on the transfigured bed holding Hermione close in his arms thinking about their future. It just one week until Hermione Granger would become Hermione Malfoy.

Falling asleep with her wrapped around him on Friday night had been six years worth of his dreams coming true. It was also only the second time that he had actually slept in the same bed all night with a woman. He had never been one to spend the night holding the woman he had just been with, until Hermione. She was the only woman he had ever been comfortable enough to sleep with after they had sex. Previously, he had always certain that he vacated the bed quickly after sex. If he had any doubts before about being in love with his bride, the fact that he slept the whole night holding her nullified them.

Draco Malfoy was a playboy. He had been with many women in his past, but not one of them could hold a candle to Hermione. Friday night was just…perfect.

Finally, he understood that being in love with your partner added to the act itself. Now, he honestly knew why people called it making love. Their shared emotions had added so much more to, what he had always referred to as shagging. He could only marvel at this new level of intimacy. Draco had always considered himself a considerate lover, but by being with someone that you loved, it even took those practiced actions to another level of bliss.

They had made love three times throughout their lust-filled night. He had been surprised, to say the least, at how adventurous she was. Nevertheless, he made sure to take care of her needs as well. Despite his passion, he still hoped that his feelings of love and adoration would be evident to quell her doubts as well.

(I am not sure if that additional line works or not. I have been toying with another way to say what you mean here, but I have not been able to figure something out.)

Always a realist, Draco expected her to be upset when she opened her eyes and realized what had happened the night before. Instead, when she opened her eyes she smiled and sleepily asked, "Mmmmm, morning Draco, what time is it?"

As he returned her smile, he answered, "About nine, i think."

Instantly, she had shot out of the transfigured bed nude, running around the large living room to retrieve her scattered clothes. She explained, "Ginny and Harry are meeting me at my flat in 5 minutes to help me get everything over here."

He simply laughed and tossed her the bra that was lying underneath him. She dressed hurriedly and then stopped by the bed intending to give him a quick kiss. However, Draco had other ideas. He pulled her onto the bed and rolled her under him to give her a proper good morning kiss.

She ended up flooing into her flat thirty minutes late only to interrupt Harry and Ginny snogging on her couch. To announce her arrival, she teased, "Honestly, you two, you are married now. I would think that you would be able to control yourselves."

After seeing Harry's green eyes flash in recognizing the "reason" for Hermione's tardiness, Hermione quickly suggested, "Harry? Draco could use your help at the new house, Ginny and I will take care of getting everything here shrunk for transport." She then gestured towards the floo and grabbed her pot of powder.

If Harry thought that Hermione was acting odd trying to get him to leave so quickly, he didn't let it show. He grabbed a handful of powder and threw it into the fireplace, while taking a closer look at her mussed hair, before grinning and shouting, "Number 48 Ixworth Place."

With a flash of green light Harry was gone and Hermione grabbed Ginny's hand to pull her into the bedroom. "I need to talk to you."

"Where were you this morning Hermione? We got here at ten past nine, expecting you to be impatiently tapping your foot. Instead, we had to wait twenty minutes for you to even get here."

Seeing her friend shifting her eyes in guilt, Ginny moved in front of her and asked, "Look at me Hermione," she urged, and then gently said, "You slept with Draco last night, didn't you?"

Immediately, tears began leaking down Hermione's cheeks. "Ginny, I don't know what to do. I…what I mean to say is …I think…," she stammered too nervous to tell Ron's sister that she had slept with Draco. She felt like she lost another piece of Ron last night.

"Hermione, we have already talked about this. Ron is gone and you are marrying Draco in one week. It is OK to have feelings for him, you should have feelings for him, and in fact, I am thrilled that you have feelings for him. It means that you have finally let your anguish over losing Ron go and could made room in your heart for Draco."

Ginny finished quietly, pulling the quietly weeping Hermione into her arms, and holding her to sooth away her tears. Her own heart hurt knowing that her friend was finally letting go of her childhood sweetheart complete with their dreams they had for their future -- a feature that would never be. She, too, allowed herself to shed tears for brother and tightened her hold.

Hermione calmed herself after a while, and pulled out of Ginny's comforting arms. "We should probably get to work, so that I can make sure Draco doesn't put everything away wrong." She gave her a bright grin, despite her puffy eyes.

"The charms can wait. Now that you are calmed down, you know that I need some details." Ginny smirked at her and asked in quick succession, "So, is he as good as we always heard in school? How did it happen? How many times did you shag? Was that why you were late this morning?"

Hermione burst into laughter, "I suppose that you want me to take those questions one at a time, huh?"

At Ginny's nod she began, "He is better than good. I have never been touched the way that he touched me and I am not talking about with his hands--"

"Or lips, or tongue…" Ginny eagerly interrupted.

"Anyways," Hermione continued, trying to suppress her grin, "Yes lips and tongue too. But he also touched my heart. He made it ache for him. And by the way, speaking of tongues, he should teach classes; it should be a required class seventh year for all wizards. Merlin, Ginny, it was the most amazing sex I have ever had."

Ginny grinned at her words. "So, the best you've ever had eh? Tell me more, you still need to answer how, and how many times it happened."

Hermione couldn't keep the huge smile off of her face. "Three times last night Ginny, and again this morning. I tell you, the man is insatiable. He did things to my body that I didn't know were possible."

However, that was then that Hermione's guilt caught up to her mind, "The best sex I've ever had? What am I thinking? Ron and I loved each other…but that doesn't mean that the sex was good. You can love someone and still have mediocre sex…and it's not like I have had that much sex. Ron was the only person I had ever slept with before last night. Our sex life was never bad; it was just ok. Ron never took me to the heights that Draco did last night...

Ginny noticed Hermione spacing out and correctly guessed that she was having a silent war with herself, so she snapped her fingers in front of her face. "Earth to Hermione? Where did you go just now?"

"I was just thinking about Ron. Ginny, I can't help it, but I am constantly comparing him to Draco, but not just in the bedroom. I loved Ron, Ginny. I loved him so much I thought I was going to die when he was taken from me, and it just seems wrong to be happy and moving on with Draco, when Ron is gone. We had so many plans, and they will never come true."

"Oh, Hermione, it is unfair that my brother died, but he did. Everyone knows that you loved him. Ron knew that you loved him and you made each other so happy. Now that he is gone you deserve to be happy again."

She paused to take Hermione's hands in hers and continued, "He is at peace now, but you are still alive, and you have this amazing chance for happiness with Malfoy. Ron would hate it if he knew that you were forsaking your chance for a happy life because of him."

"Of course you are comparing the two of them, they are the two most serious relationships you have had. Do you really think that when Harry and I got together that I didn't compare everything about him to Dean Thomas, and Michael Corner? It is natural for you to compare Malfoy to Ron."

"Now, stop fighting with yourself. We have a very busy day ahead of us. We have to get everything in this flat over to your house, so start shrinking."

It only took the two witches ten minutes to get everything shrunk down, and ready to go. Once the last box was shrunk and placed in Hermione's old school trunk, she took a last look around and her eyes glittered with more tears. Ginny knew that she needed a moment alone, so she offered to floo over to the house with the trunk to allow Hermione to say her goodbyes.

After Ginny disappeared in the fireplace, Hermione walked around the flat and let her memories and her tears come. Where her bed once resided was where she lost her virginity to Ron. They were so eager for each other that it had only lasted a few minutes. In the living room was where she first told him that she loved him while cuddling on the couch. She saved the kitchen for last, as it was where Ron had got down on one knee and proposed.

Why did it have to be so hard to say goodbye?

"Ron? I have to let go of you now. There will always be a special place in my heart, just for you, but as Ginny said, it is time for me to make room in my heart for Draco. He really has changed so much since school, and he loves me Ron. I have a chance for real happiness with him, and I have to take it."

She was still standing in the spot where Ron had proposed, and she slid to the linoleum to weep for her lost love. She knew that these would be her final tears for Ron Weasley.

Hours later, she was still leaning back against the cabinets, with her knees drawn to her chest, and silent tears steadily falling onto her t-shirt. It was then she felt two hands softly rest on her shoulders and pull her up and into their hard chest.

She instantly recognized the spicy scent of Draco's cologne. He murmured into her hair, "Ron's Mum sent me to make sure you were OK. She guessed that it would be hard for you to say goodbye to this place where you were so happy with him."

She smiled into his chest and tightened her arms around his waist as he hugged her. She knew that it was time that she moved on with Draco Malfoy. Even though she wept for Ron and mourned their memories and plans, it was on that same kitchen floor that she knew she was in love with Draco. She may have known this fact for a while, but it was only today she could accept it completely. After all, she would never give herself to someone that she didn't love.

Breaking into her thoughts, his voice rasped out in concern," Are you OK?"

She pulled back and gave him a tremulous smile. "I am going to be just fine Draco. I just needed time to say goodbye to the memories here."

"Hermione," he began sounding uncertain, "Ginny told me to put your clothes and trunk in the master bedroom with my things. This is what you wanted, right?"

Her quiet smile became a lecherous grin, Ginny knew her too well. "You know, when I gave myself to you last night I meant it…and what was it you said to me last night, Draco? Oh yeah, now I remember…I am by no means done with you."

Before apparating away, she thought, _"Thank you Ron. I'm going to be OK now. I love you. Goodbye my love."_

A/N: Well, what do you think? Do you like it? Hate it? Want more? Want less?

Let me know what you are thinking. We are just about finished, just some loose ends left to tie up. We're talking maybe one or two chapters left, so thank you to everyone who read this story. An even bigger thank you goes out to those that have reviewed. I truly appreciate each and every review.

And finally for the biggest thank you, BuffyXO, you are the best beta I could ever hope for.


	8. Chapter 8

Epilogue

Epilogue

The gardens at Malfoy Manor were stunning; they were everything she had ever hoped for, in fact. There were hydrangeas off to the right, and a multitude of rose bushes on the left. A beautiful wisteria was blooming behind the altar. Hermione reflected to her self that her soon-to-be mother-in-law had a real eye for gardening.

Hermione was walking down the aisle, escorted by Arthur Weasley. As they walked down the aisle towards Draco and Kingsley Shackelbolt, who was presiding over the handfasting, she was going over her vows in her head. Arthur sensing her thoughts gave her hand a gentle squeeze. When she looked up at him he said, "just tell him what is in your heart".

Kingsley began the ceremony in his deep melodious voice, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this wizard, and this witch in marriage."

Draco and Hermione joined both their left and right hands together and Kingsely tied the red silk cord around them and said "Be understanding and patient, each with the other. Be free in the giving of affection and warmth. Be sensuous with one another. Have no fear and let not the ways of the unenlightened give you unease, for the Gods are with you now and always_._"

" Draco and Hermione you will now recite the vows of handfasting."

"I, Draco Lucius Malfoy, commit myself to be with Hermione Jane Granger in joy and adversity, in wholeness and brokenness, in peace and turmoil, living with her faithfully all our days. May the Gods give me the strength to keep these vows. So be it."

"I, Hermione Jane Granger, commit myself to be with Draco Lucius Malfoy in joy and adversity, in wholeness and brokenness, in peace and turmoil, living with her faithfully all our days. May the Gods give me the strength to keep these vows. So be it."

Hermione looked up at the words, "Hermione and Draco have written their own vows, and will now proceed to declare their intentions. Draco, you are first."

Draco looked at the woman whose hand was clasped tightly in his; he thought that she looked beautiful. Taking a nervous breath, he looked into her eyes and began, "Hermione, we got off to a rather rocky start in our first year at Hogwarts." He paused to allow the good-natured laughter calm down with his trademark smirk on his handsome face. He continued, "I was raised to believe that Muggle-borns were no match for purebloods. However on my very first day of classes at Hogwarts, I was smacked upside the head with the knowledge that a certain witch, who happened to be Muggle-born, was not only a match for purebloods, but maybe even better."

He continued with a tender smile on his face, "Now, we didn't always get along, but I respected you ever since you slapped me during our third year. It was then I began to look at you closer. By fourth year and the Yule Ball, I was looking at you in an entirely new way; I was in awe of you."

He tightened his hold on her hand and swallowed back the tears that were threatening to cascade down his cheeks. "You have never stopped surprising me. This engagement started as a Ministry decree, but I truly believe that we will have a happy marriage. I promise that from this day forward, my number one priority in life will be making you happy, you and the children I hope we have, will be first for me above all things."

He placed a glittering diamond wedding band on her finger, and finished. "I know that you might not love me now, but I do love you, Hermione, and I will spend the rest of my life showing you how much, this is my solemn vow to you.

"I promise that I will always keep you supplied with books to read, I will always make sure that your family," at this he looked over at the Weasley's and Harry, "always feel welcome in our home, and I will show you everyday how much better my life is because of you and the love I have for you. This ring is symbol of the unending promises I make to you today, I will love and cherish you now and for the rest of my days."

Hermione was quietly weeping by the end of his vows. Minister Shackelbolt looked over at the bride and said, "Now, Hermione will give her vows."

She took a deep breath to stem her tears and regain her composure. She began, "Draco, you and I are so very different. Our early years together were not quite harmonious, but certainly passionate. I should have known all those years ago, that our shared passion would one day lead us here. There are so many things about you that I love Draco. I love that you always hold the door for any woman that needs to pass through. I love you that you understand my love for books. I love that you are not scared to tell me that you love me in front of everyone here. I love that you hold me tight to your side when we apparate or floo somewhere. I love that you have made room for my family in your life. Lastly, I love the way that you show me everyday how much you love me. It is no secret to anyone that I initially chose a different man for myself. But it is also not a secret to his family that I have fallen in love with you."

Draco's eyes popped wide at her declaration, and he looked over to the front row and saw Ron's family smiling at him. His bride had obviously prepared them for her vows.

"So, I promise you that my number one priority will be making you happy, because I never expected to find love again, but because of you, I have." She then took a platinum wedding band from Ginny and slid it slowly onto Draco's left, ring finger. She said as a wave of fresh tears began, "This ring is the symbol of my unending love for you. I promise to love and cherish you for the rest of my life."

Draco leaned over and kissed his bride without having the presider's blessing. He poured all of his feelings for his wife into the kiss. He only distantly heard the wizard declare them man and wife.

In an effort to end the couple's impromptu kissing session, Harry cleared his throat. Ginny followed his action moments later. Still Hermione and Draco kept kissing oblivious to Molly's fake cough, Arthur's staged sneeze, Narcissa's uncomfortable humming, and the insistent tapping from Lucius' cane.

It was only when George shouted, "Oi! Draco! Hermione! You need to come up for some air, there is plenty of time for snogging later, we want to start the party." The guests began to laugh, breaking Hermione and Draco free of their kiss. They looked over at their assembled guests with huge smiles on their faces.

"Excuse us for a moment all, we'll meet you back here in a few minutes, I need to have a word with my wife." Draco held out his elbow and walked his smiling wife down the aisle and into the manor.

He pulled her back into the circle of his arms, and pressed his forehead to hers. "I love you 'Mione. I love you so much, but you didn't have to say that in front of everyone."

"I love you Draco. I spoke to Molly and Arthur last night. They know that I will always love Ron. He was the first man that I loved, and will always be in my heart, but my future is with you. I was planning on telling you tonight, but Molly suggested that I include it in my vows.

"She said that everyone knew that I loved Ron, but that now that he is gone, everyone should know that I love you also. I hadn't even told them yet, but somehow she knew without me having to tell them at all." Then Hermione kissed him lightly and rested her head on his chest.

He held her close for a few more minutes before letting out a giant sigh, "I guess we should go and greet our guests. Are you ready Mrs. Malfoy?"

She giggled happily, "Absolutely Mr. Malfoy, besides, George will have everyone convinced that we already consummated our marriage if we stay in here much longer."

They walked over to the door opening it with magic when they reached the threshold. As they stepped into the sunlight, Hermione heard Lucius announcing them to the guests spread along the lawn.

His regal voice boomed, "I would like to be the first to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy. Many of you were not expecting me to welcome her into my family, but she has managed to make all three of us fall under her spell." He crossed over to their side, bought her hand to his lips in a gallant gesture and continued, "Missus Malfoy, welcome, my dear, to the family; I know that you will make us proud."

"It is so nice to meet you, Missus Malfoy, will have this dance with me?" Draco asked her with all the love he felt shining in his gray eyes.

Draco swept his beautiful wife onto the dance floor for their first dance as man and wife. As the beginning of "Feels Like Home, by Chantal Kreviazuk, he murmured into her ear, "I love you, Hermione."

"I love you too, Draco; today we start the rest of our life."


End file.
